There has been a drumbeat of allegations in Canada that the Canada Revenue Agency is targeting left-leaning charities for special scrutiny with respect to their alleged political activity. The latest group to make this assertion is Sierra Club Canada Foundation, which according to a CBCNews report expected auditors to arrive at its offices this week to look for evidence of political activity exceeding the permitted 10 percent level for Canadian charities. Concerns about such audits began in 2012, when 60 political audits of charities began that allegedly disproportionately hit environmental and other left-leaning charities. In 2014 the National Post reported that more than 400 academics had demanded the end of a CRA audit focused on the left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and last month CBCNews reported on a Steelworkers charity protesting being subject to a similar audit (hat tip: David Herzig).
According to the various press reports, the National Revenue Minister has repeatedly denied any bias in audit selection, stating that CRA officials make such decisions independently of political appointees. As in the United States, CRA is not able to comment on specific audits because of tax law confidentiality rules. A left-leaning think tank has called for an independent probe, however, asserting that right-leaning charities with apparent political involvement appear to have escaped scrutiny (see also CBCNews report). There does not appear to be an investigative body, such as the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in the U.S., that is well positioned to engage in such a probe, however (Canadian readers, please correct me if I am wrong on this point).
Lloyd Mayer
